Collapsible interior form for a monolithic structure

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a cast monolithic house and to an apparatus for casting, simultaneously, the roof, end wall and sidewalls thereof at the site. The method involves hinging together roof and sidewall forming portions of a form and lifting such form into place by wheeled carriers which are guided by jigs on the floor of the house. Jacks, mounted on the wheeled carriers, will lift the form into place. Wall form positioning linkage is connected between the wheeled carriers and the sidewall forming portions of the form to retract or expand them into normal vertical position in wedging relationship with floor bucks serving as base portions of said sidewall forming portions.

United States Patent n 1 Stickler, Jr.

m 1 3,847,341 1;N0v. 12, 1974 COLLAPSIBLE INTERIOR FORM FOR A MONOLITIIIC STRUCTURE I Inventor: Charles W. Stiekler, Jr., Mohnton,

[73] Assignee: Gray Tech'lndustries, Inc.,

1 Mohnton, Pa.

[22] Filed: June 20, 1973 [21] ,Appl. No; 371,826

Related U.S. Application Data [60] Division of Ser. No. 200,060, Nov. 18, 1971-,Pat. No. 3,742,102, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 123,539, March 12, 1971, abandoned.

[56] References Cited I 9/1933 Copeland et al 249/ 2,671,697 3/1954 North 425/62. 3,490,729 l/1970 Luce et 211...

3,693,927 9/1972 Jennings 249/181 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 365,206 1962 Switzerland .1 425/62 1966- Poland 249/27 Primary Examiner-Robert D. Baldwin Assistant Examiner-John McOuade [57 1 ABSTRACT This invention relates to a cast monolithic house and to an apparatus for casting, simultaneously, the roof, endwa'll'and sidewalls thereof at the site. The method involves hingingtogether roof and sidewall forming portions-of a form'and lifting such form into place by wheeled carriers which are guided by ji'gs on the floor of the house. Jacks, mounted on the-wheeled carriers, will lift, the form into place. Wall form positioning linkage is 'conn ected between the wheeled carriers and the sidewall formingportions of the'form .to retract or 1 expand them intonormal'vertical position in wedging UNITED STATES PATENTS relationship with floor bucks serving as base portions 1,453,174 4/1923 Patmor 249/180 of said sidewall forming portion5 1,626,897, 5/1927 Wedberg '249/180 1,861,801 6/1932 Jury 249/180 5 ClalmS, 6 Drawing Figures n 1 n 2 I4 H 12 v I IF n l 1O 22 22 1| x 1'] u I ,2 I if, I] 22 v v I 1 2., i .9 r 1 h a 21 ll 2o FMENTEH NOV 1 2 197 SHEU 2 0F 3 COLLAPSIBLE INTERIOR FORM FOR A MONOLITHIC STRUCTURE now abandoned and relates to casting of a concrete,

house,- and, more particularly, to the casting, simultaneously, of the roof, two sidewalls and an end wall to rapidly cast a monolithic concrete house unit at the site. i

In the past, attempts to reduce the cost of fabricating inexpensive homes have not met .with success since it has been necessary to prefabricate partitions and outer wall portions in factories and then crate and ship them to the site for assembly. Such shipment and laborious effort at the site for assembling the prefabricated wall portions have added considerably to the overall cost as well as to the time for construction. Methods for permanently joining such wall portions have not proved satisfactory.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel monolithic house construction and apparatus for casting thereof at the site, which will overcome all the above mentioned disadvantages of prior methods.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel apparatus including the useof vehicles with flat beds for erecting interior fomrs to a position for simultaneously castingthe roof, two sidewalls and an end wall, and for thereafter withdrawing and removing the forms by the aid of said vehicles so as to easily, quickly and inexpensively cast the entire houseat the site without the need of prefabricated outer wall portions.

Other objects andadvantages will become more apparent from astudy of the following description, taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an expanded forming system for casting aconcrete house in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of a modification for casting smaller homes;

FIG. 3 is a top view showing the roof grid and forming plank of the structure shown in FIG. 1; 7

FIG. 4 is a side view of the exterior of the form; and,

FIGS. 5 and 6 are elevational views of the window blockout shown in the pour and open positions, respectively.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawing, the prepoured concrete floor slab 1 is prepared for the reception of the casting machine by setting the interior form floor buck sections 2 and the floor guides 3 in place. The floor slab is designed and constructed to be adequate for use both as the floor of the house and as the base pad capable of supporting and positioning all the related formingequipment.

The floor slab is constructed of proper concrete and reinforcing steel and is placed as previous to all other construction as deemed necessary and to attain the adequate curing of the concrete required to be assured of proper strength.

The floor buck 2 is a fabricated angular section designed to serve a dual purpose. When fastened to the floor slab 1 with an adequate fastener, the floor buck will outline the interior wall of the house and will therefore serve as a positioning jig for accurate positioning of the main forming sections. Since the floor buck is an independent part of the forming system and attached to the related parts with mechanical fasteners, it can serve as a spacer for the innerwall forming section. It is designed to a proper height to allow the interior wall form 9 to retract from the wall, and assure proper clearance, to the floor slab, to allow the system to be removed from the'structure: without damage to either the structure or the equipment.

The floor guide 3 isa solid'member of either wood or structural steel angle or channel) that is fastened to the floor slab 1 if it is necessary for alignment to place the forming system to'its approximate final position. From this position, the final adjustments can be made.

Then the six interior'form carriers 4 and 5 are rolled into position on the floor slab, three on eachend. The

two center interior form carriers 5 houses of a smaller version.

The interior form carrier is the main sectionof the casting machine. When positioned properly, and attached to the form buck 2 and similar'carriers it is capable of forming one quadrant of the interior'walls and roof of the house. The carrier is equipped with casters that may swivel or, two sets of wheels 6 at proper angles to facilitate movement in two directions. I

Jacks 7 are mounted on the carrier frame to elevate the carriers to the proper height. All sections are hinged at all points necessary both to set the forms are not used for in pouring position and also to enable the forms to be stripped and have adequate clearance to allow the sections to be removed from the structure.

The interior form carriers 4 and 5 are designed to ,keys, electrical chases and etc.. The form carriers in the rear quadrants will include the form skin for the rear wall and, the form carrier in the front quadrants will include the form for the gable of the open end of the structure. The roof is formed by using roof forming planks which will remain as an integral part of the structure. These planks are supported by a system of gridwork, which is the top section of the interior form carriers. (See FIG. 3) and serve as the roof insulating material.

The center form carrier 5 is an optional part of the system to be used to construct a larger house by adding it to the basic system. By moving the interior form carriers apart and adding two center from carriers, you now have a six quadrant system to provide the larger house. I

The form carrier wheels 6 are merely the means to position the casting machine in its proper position on the floor slab 1. They could be straight axles or swivel types and are'designed for maximum efficiency and best possible weight distribution. v

The form carriers are raised to the proper height by using the built-in screw jacks 7. By extending the wall form positioning linkage 8 the interior wall form 9 and a portion of the roof forming grid 10 move into position. This wall form positioning linkage could be any screw, lever, cam or linkage that will position and retract the interior wall form 9 to any position necessary to pour" and remove the section with adequate clearance.

By swinging the hinged roof forming grids 12,13 into position and fastening them to the temporary form support columns 14 the interior form set-up is completed. The hinges 11 are placed at all points on the forming system where it is necessary to fold the sections to be able to position all sections properly and to be able to remove the system from the structure. They are designed to be able to'support the necessary weight requirements and are placed to assure that they will remain clean and maintenance free.

The temporary form support columns is a series of temporary shores, either wood, pipe or structural members that support the roof forming system, for the pouring operation. After the concrete is sufficiently cured, the forming grids are'detached from the columns and the system is removed. The columns however, stay in place to provide shoring for any additional time necessary to support the still curing, concrete roof. All reinforcement and roof forming plank 24 is placed at this pointin the operating sequence.

The exterior wall form 15 is developed by assembling fabricated sections. The sections are designed to form the entire exterior wall and the roof eaves and can be expanded by adding sections to match the six quadrant house. This form 15 is fastened to the floor slab by form ties 16 fastened to the interior wall form 9.

To set up the exterior forms they must be positioned seven inches from the interior wall form and attached to it by using form ties l6 and wales 17, the wales serve both as a structure member of the wall forms 9 and 15 and as the clamping surface for the form ties 16. The form is attached to the concrete floor slab through the use of cast-in-place J -bolts 18. The extension forms allow the casting of either an upward 19 or downward 20 sloping eave.

This upward slope shape is developed by either adding a properly designed section to the eave form downward slope 20 or by hinging and sliding the wall form to achieve the desired shape.

The downward slope form section is attached to the exterior wall form 15 and is capable of forming the eave and is self supporting when attached with eave form brace 21.

The forms are now ready forthe pouring of three concrete walls and the roof of the house.

The roof edge form 22 is attached to the form sections and is used to form the edge of the roof and is designed both to control the thickness of the concrete and to be used as the screed surface for finishing the roof. The scaffold 23 is attached to the exterior wall form 15 andis self supporting. This scaffold is designed to meet all specifications for safety factors.

This initial casting is keyed to receive the fourth wall after the interior forms are extracted. The fourth wall is poured through holes 30 in the roof see FIG. 3) thereby making it an integral part of the initial cast.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show door and window openings 25 cast with collapsible-block-outs 28, 28 pivoted on hinges 29, FIG. 5 shows the assembled position'and FIG. 6 shows the retracted position. A top removable section 26 and bottom section 27 complete the frame. An electrical chase is cast with the interior forms. An exterior wall form liner may be used to texture the exterior finish.

Thus it will be seen that l have provided a strong and durable cast concrete house having long life and I have also provided an efficient method for casting integrally and simultaneously the sidewalls, end wall and roof of such house, to quickly form a monolithic structure at the site without the necessity of transporting prefabricated sections; furthennore, ,l have provided a unique and very fast method for transporting, erecting and withdrawing the forms to enable casting of a unitary structure which is considerably stronger than structures heretofore constructed, and which is devoid of joints between the sidewalls, end wall and roof and which structure canbe erected in an amazingly short time at amazingly low cost.

While I have illustrated and described a single specific embodiment of my invention, it will be understood, that this is by way of illustration only and that various changes and modifications may be contemplated within the scope of the following claims.

I CLAIM:

1. Apparatus comprising a form for pouring concrete to form integrally connected roof and sidewalls of a house, comprising an interior form including a plurality of pivotally interconnected roof and sidewall forming portions, each roof forming portion including a pivotally connected extension, a central roof forming portion with pivotally connected extensions, a plurality of wheeled form carriers, jack means for lifting vertically upwardly said form carriers, one of said carriers being located centrally for lifting and positioning said central roof forming portion and for holding it in confronting relationship with two other carriers located laterally thereof for lifting and positioning the said roof and sidewall forming portions with the roof forming portions slanted upwardly toward the center of the house, positioning linkage means pivotally connected to the sides of said two last mentioned form carriers for pivotally moving said sidewall forming portions from an inwardly retracted angular positionto a normal vertical position.

2. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said sidewall forming portions have rigid, angularly disposed roof forming extensions at the top ends thereof.

3. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 together with a pair of floor bucks, eahc forming the lower portion of said sidewall forming portions and being in wedging relationship therewith.

4. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 together with floor guides attached to a floor of said house for accurately positioning and guiding said form carriers.

5. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 together with door and window forming forms, each comprising a pair of pivotally mounted collapsible block-outs forming the sidewalls, and a removable top section for bridging the top ends of said block-outs. 

1. Apparatus comprising a form for pouring concrete to form integrally connected roof and sidewalls of a house, comprising an interior form including a plurality of pivotally interconnected roof and sidewall forming portions, each roof forming portion including a pivotally connected extension, a central roof forming portion with pivotally connected extensions, a plurality of wheeled form carriers, jack means for lifting vertically upwardly said form carriers, one of said carriers being located centrally for lifting and positioning said central roof forming portion and for holding it in confronting relationship with two other carriers located laterally thereof for lifting and positioning the said roof and sidewall forming portions with the roof forming portions slanted upwardly toward the center of the house, positioning linkage means pivotally connected to the sides of said two last mentioned form carriers for pivotally moving said sidewall forming portions from an inwardly retracted angular position to a normal vertical position.
 2. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said sidewall forming portions have rigid, angularly disposed roof forming extensions at the top ends thereof.
 3. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 together with a pair of floor bucks, eahc forming the lower portion of said sidewall forming portions and being in wedging relationship therewith.
 4. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 together with floor guides attached to a floor of said house for accurately positioning and guiding said form carriers.
 5. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 together with door and window forming forms, each comprising a pair of pivotally mounted collapsible block-outs forming the sidewalls, and a removable top section for bridging the top ends of said block-outs. 